U.S. consumers waged a courageous battle against high gas prices by driving less last year, but still
ended up paying 24 percent more for less gas, according to motor fuels research by The NPD Group, a leading market
research company. NPD?s Motor Fuels Index finds that consumers paid 24 percent more dollars to purchase 1.7 percent
fewer gallons in 2011 compared to 2010. The increased spending represents more than $76 billion dollars going into
gas tanks in 2011 versus the previous year.